Recently, two civil mediation documents put an end to a three-year "Kangwang" trademark infringement and unfair competition case.

Under the preside of the Shanghai Intellectual Property Court, Shanghai Runfu Biotechnology Co., Ltd., Shanghai Meihao Investment Holding Co., Ltd., and Gansu Kangwang Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. jointly worked with the trademark owner, Bayer's Dianhong Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd. reached a mediation agreement, promising to immediately stop trademark infringement and related unfair competition, compensate Dianhong for economic losses of 1 million yuan, and publish a statement of apology on Toutiao and its WeChat official account.

As a well-known brand of anti-dandruff medicinal lotion, "Kangwang" has a history of nearly 25 years. It became a brand under Bayer in 2014, following Bayer's successful acquisition of Dianhong Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd. As Bayer's flagship brand rooted in the Chinese market, "Kangwang" has always received significant attention from the company and continues to rank first in the anti-dandruff medicinal lotion market.

In 2017, Bayer noticed the appearance of "Baikangwang" shampoo on the market. After investigation and evidence collection, the product was produced and sold by Dianhong's former distributor Company A and its subsidiary Company B. In response to the malicious infringement of the above persons who knew that the "Kangwang" brand has belonged to Bayer but still deliberately registered and used the "Baykangwang" trademark, Bayer filed an administrative complaint with the Shanghai Qingpu District Market Supervision Bureau, and finally received a penalty decision in 2019: the two companies A and B were judged to immediately stop the infringement and imposed a fine of 200,000 yuan.

However, in 2018, the company started operating a new infringing product "Likangwang" shampoo, and at the same time sold online and offline channels, publicized the product in the media and pharmaceutical exhibitions, and invited public figures to endorse it. Its affiliated company C Company" also used the word "Kangwang" in the name of the company, calling itself "Kangwang Pharmaceutical", which constituted an act of unfair competition.

In response, Bayer filed a civil infringement lawsuit against "Baikangwang" and "Likangwang" to the Shanghai Intellectual Property Court, and finally accepted a settlement on the premise of the defendant's immediate suspension of infringement, compensation, and apology after mediation in December 2020. On the basis of covering all litigation claims, the settlement matters also included the defendant’s other unfair competition acts, and resolved all infringements in a package to the fullest extent, preventing the defendant from other free-riding actions in the future.

Source: China IP Today